Civic Center Park in Denver, shown during a 4/20 event in April 2012. (Denver Post file)

Denver parks officials have denied a permit for a 4/20 rally to an organizer who had been given first consideration for Civic Center on April 20. Now the city is working out details with a second applicant who had been shut out.

The latest twist comes five weeks after first applicant Robert Chase told Denver Parks and Recreation that he would not provide requested details about portable toilets, emergency medical arrangements, crowd monitors, a site plan or trash cleanup. He said he didn’t think those were needed for what he planned as a simple protest rally of continuing criminalization of cannabis under some federal and even state laws despite Colorado’s voter-passed recreational marijuana legalization amendment.

Parks and Rec Executive Director Lauri Dannemiller wrote again to Chase on Feb. 27, making clear that those detailed plans would be a requirement.

Chase didn’t reply, so Dannemiller sent a new letter Tuesday denying his permit application. She sent another letter that day to Anton Marquez, who had applied for a 4/20 rally permit for April 20 after Chase but initially was denied. The holiday for pot enthusiasts is on a Monday this year.

If Montez’s permit is granted, his event — expected to draw roughly 25,000 to the park — would occur following the large annual 4/20 festival over the weekend, on April 18-19.

The city is asking Marquez for the same plans and arrangements for Civic Center that Chase declined to provide. He said Wednesday that he planned to submit details to the city by Tuesday, when he has a meeting set with parks officials. He is still lining up bands and sponsors.

“I continued forward with planning just in case,” Marquez said. “My goal was to be prepared just in case something like this happened.”

Chase expressed disappointment and frustration. He said he still planned to follow through on part of his plan on April 20 by encouraging marijuana legalization supporters to march on the State Capitol, to protest “the prohibitionists at work.”

About parks officials, Chase said: “They are subverting the purpose of the rally by denying a public assembly permit.”

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.